Kindred Spirits
by anotherweasley
Summary: L&O/X-Files-Doggett goes to see his old friend Briscoe.


Kindred Spirits  
By: Olivia  
  
"All mixed up you don't know what to do/Next thing you turn around and find the person is you...You've got to trust you instinct/And let go of regret/You've got to bet on yourself now star/Cause that's your best bet."-311-"All Mixed Up"  
  
"Put away your sorrow/Try your best to find yourself again/You might be scared to start, but then/Beginnings only come from ends."-Cowboy Mouth-"Marianne"  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Hi, Lennie."  
  
Lennie looked up from the M.E.'s report he was reviewing. When he saw who it was, Lennie's face broke into a grin.  
  
"Well if it isn't John Doggett."  
  
"How ya doing, Lennie?" John asked smiling as he shook hands with Lennie.  
  
"Just fine. Ya know, same old, same old. Perps still keep on committing crimes and we keep putting them away."  
  
"The good fight," said John.  
  
Lennie nodded.  
  
Ed came walking back to his desk while sipping coffee.  
  
"Hey, Ed. This is John Doggett. He and I've worked a few cases together. He worked over at the 3-5 in Brooklyn before he transferred to the FBI in Washington."  
  
"Nice to meet you," said Ed shaking John's hand. "Any friend of Lennie's..."  
  
"So what brings you up this way?" asked Lennie.  
  
John just shrugged. "Took the day off... Thought I'd come back and see the old neighborhood. I gotta be heading back soon, but I thought I'd drop by..."  
  
Lennie knew there was some deeper reason for him coming back.  
  
"We'll the Lieutenant will be sorry that she missed you. She's in court today. I've got a some time for a break if you wanna get a drink before you head back?"  
  
John nodded gratefully. "That'd be great."  
  
Chapter 2  
  
The waitress came up to John and Lennie's table to take their order.  
  
"I'll have a club soda, please," said Lennie.  
  
"Coffee," John said.  
  
The waitress came back a few seconds later with their drinks and left them to themselves.  
  
"I was sorry to hear about Rey's wife," said John.  
  
Lennie nodded solemnly. "Yeah I still stop by a couple of times a month. See how he and his family are doing. Help 'em out if I can."  
  
John nodded as an awkward silence filled the air between them.  
  
"So what really brought you back, John?"  
  
John shrugged. "I really don't know."  
  
"Of course you do. You just have to stop and think about it. Did you go to see your ex?"  
  
"No. I'm probably the last person on Earth she'd ever want to see again," said John. He paused and collected his thoughts. "For the past year I've been working in this division of the Bureau and I just needed a break to come back here... I don't know. They say sometimes to know where you're going, you've got to see where you've been."  
  
Lennie nodded. "You took the job at the FBI to get away from here, to get away from the pain of losing Luke, of losing your son."  
  
John looked at Lennie. Lennie could tell John was in pain.  
  
"And what about you, Lennie. You're still here. Even after your daughter, Cathy..."  
  
"You weren't running away, John, if that's what you're afraid of."  
  
John gave Lennie a disbelieving look.  
  
"You were looking for a change with the FBI. You weren't running away," reiterated Lennie.  
  
Jan ran his hand through his short hair. "Then why do I feel like I'm still running away? As if I have always been running away."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"So what's this division your working in?" asked Lennie.  
  
"The last place I thought I'd be," said John. "It's called the X-Files."  
  
Lennie laughed. "The X-Files, eh?"  
  
John was surprised. "You've heard of it?"  
  
"I met a man who worked there once by the name of Mulder. Met him as I was taking the train back up to New York from Washington. His partner, an Agent Scully, had been shot accidentally in the apprehension of a murderer."  
  
John nodded slowly. "I remember hearing about that. I think I might have read that case report too. I didn't know who they were at the time."  
  
"Yeah, luckily she was okay. It was touch and go there for a while with her. I was really worried about that partner of hers, Mulder I mean. You know how it is. Your partner's like a part of you. When he, or she, is in danger, and you're powerless to do anything... But I digress. It all ended happily. So how is Agent Mulder?"  
  
John just laughed and shook his head. "Let's just say the last time I saw him he was fine."  
  
"So you're not working with him?" Lennie asked confused.  
  
John shook his head. "Agent Mulder took the fall for something no one should have had to take the fall for. He left me with his legacy, passing the torch so to speak, at the Bureau. Agent Scully took a position teaching at Quantico. So the X-Files is currently being run my myself and Monica Reyes..."  
  
"Hey, isn't that the woman who was the lead investigator on Luke's case?"  
  
"Same one," said John.  
  
"Small world indeed."  
  
"You can say that again."  
  
"So you're unhappy with your new assignment? Is that what brought you back?" asked Lennie.  
  
"No," said John shaking his head. "That's not it. I guess I'm just wondering what I, a skeptic, am doing on an investigative unit into the paranormal. I guess I feel unqualified, like I'll never fill his shoes."  
  
"You mean Mulder?"  
  
John nodded. "And I feel like I'm chasing ghosts. Like I'm looking for the answer as to why my son was taken."  
  
"Working with Monica must be a constant reminder of what you've lost."  
  
"No, not really actually. Tragedy brought her into my life and even though I would do anything to have my son back, I some how feel that my life is somehow better because of her. I know she did everything she could to find Luke. Finding him, the way we did, shook her up really badly. She doesn't know that I know that she would sneak away to cry about Luke during the investigation."  
  
"She sounds like the type of person this world needs-people who care," said Lennie smiling.  
  
"Yeah. And this job on the X-Files, it's perfect for her. She believes in all this mumbo-jumbo. I need her to make the creative leaps."  
  
"And what about yourself, do you like working on the X-Files?" asked Lennie.  
  
"Deep down," said John, "I really do. This jobs like nothing I've done before. And I think some how these cases are important, on some grander scale. Only I haven't been able to view the whole chess board if you know what I mean."  
  
Lennie glanced down at his watch. "I'm sorry, John, but I've gotta get back."  
  
Lennie got out his money for his drink and tip and put it on the table. He got up and put his hand on John's shoulder as he was leaving. "Don't worry about Mulder. He's a good cop and you're a good cop. It doesn't matter how you approach cases, you still come up with the same results. I don't think you're running. I just think you're like all of us, searching for answers. And ya know for some reason I think you are closer to finding those answers than most people ever will be."  
  
John smiled. "Thanks, Lennie."  
  
"Anytime," Lennie said, "And don't forget to tell that charming Agent Reyes I said `hi.'"  
  
"Will do," said John laughing as Lennie walked out of the shop. John was once again filled with hope. 


End file.
